Fun at the Circus- Part 1
by Wind's Gale
Summary: Korra decides to take the air bending kids to the circus to give Tenzin and Pema some time off but things quickly go wrong. Part 1 of 4. Written for the Pro-Bending Circuit.


_A/N: Prompts used- Wild, emerald, "Maybe this was a bad idea", "Just do it", fear. Element: Metal. Word count: 1,135_

* * *

The day began with Korra out of bed bright and early. Normally she would have loved to sleep in but she had been excited about her new, profound ability to air bend. Now, training wasn't a hassle for her. She actually looked forward to furthering her bending.

After washing up and grooming herself, the first thing she did was hurry to her room to get dressed for the day. She turned the radio on before changing out of her sleepwear. The sun barely peaked through her window, though it provided her enough light to see what she was doing. At least, she thought it did until she fell over trying to put her pants on.

"Ow." She said to herself.

" _And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the Raging Water Monkeys, brought to you by the Rogue Laogai Traveling Circus. Remember to see them live today, folks, in Republic City and watch their world famous lion vultures perform stunts you wouldn't think possible. See their performance today only!"_

"Hm." Korra hummed to herself as she sat on the floor.

Maybe she could go a day without training.

* * *

"You want to do _what?!"_

She knew Tenzin would be opposed to the idea, at first, but all she had to do was keep pushing and convince him.

"I want to take the kids to the circus later today. You know, give you and Pema some time off so you can spend more quality time with Rohan." Korra said as they sat around the table for breakfast. Pema had just returned with a kettle of tea. She knew something was wrong when she heard her kids start begging for something.

"Oh that sounds like fun!" Jinora said.

"Yeah! Can we go dad? Please please please please?!" Ikki said with puppy-dog eyes.

Meelo stood up from his seat with his hands on his hips and his chest out. "I could show those lion vultures who's boss and soon have an army of them!"

"This is a very bad idea." Tenzin sighed.

"What's a bad idea?" Pema asked.

"Korra wants to take the kids to the circus."

"I just thought you and Tenzin could use the break." Korra said.

"We can eat fried squid tentacles and watch the flying lemurs and see the badger moles-" Ikki began to ramble with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Then I'll become the alpha male of the polar bears and raise an army of circus animals!" Meelo said as he stood on the table and began to talk of his plans for world domination. Jinora vocalized her want to see and study the behavior of the wild animals. With everyone trying to talk at the same time, a headache soon grew on Tenzin.

"Alright, alright! Korra, you can take them to the circus. Just have them back before their bedtime." He finally caved.

Korra pumped one fist in the air. "Yes! I promise, you won't regret it."

"This cannot end well."

The circus was just as she expected, crowded with many attractions outside of the main tent. A man swallowing swords, a woman with trained monkeys that made snow cones, another man offering rides on polar bears. It was amazing, at least, until the kids wanted to wander off in their own direction.

"Look! Those monkeys can make pink snow cones!" Ikki said before running off to the animals that caught her eye.

"Wait! Ikki come back!" Korra yelled after her.

"Whoa! Look how huge that goat gorilla is!"

Before Korra could even turn around, Meelo and Jinora had disappeared in the crowd.

"Oh no." She groaned. "Excuse me, sir?"

She caught the attention of an older gentleman dressed a formal suit with a top hat. "Hm? Do you need something?"

"Have you seen two little air bending kids, one boy, one girl, around 5 and 11 years old?"

"Hmm." The man scratched his chin. He was staring at her and didn't look too interested in her question. "Aren't you that Avatar kid?"

Korra blinked. "Well, yes but-"

"Fascinating! Truly fascinating! Say, why don't you do a little air bending? It is a circus after all!"

"W-What?!" She took a step back. "Or, I can find two little air bending kids to do it if you just helped me."

"Do a trick where you use two elements at once!" She heard a woman behind her say.

"I don't have time for this. I need to find-"

"Come on, show us your bending!"

"Just do it!"

Before she knew it, she was surrounded by a crowd of people demanding she entertain them.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." She mumbled to herself.

* * *

"Whoa, check this out, Jinora!"

Meelo and Jinora had managed to sneak near the cages. Or rather, Jinora had tried to drag Meelo away from the area.

"We really shouldn't be back here." She said, not hiding the worry.

The caged animals were sectioned off by species. Most of them didn't pay any attention to their presence. Further down the area was a large, metal shipping container. Naturally, Meelo had to speed over there with his air ball. Jinora took a look around and quickly followed him.

"I wonder what's in here." He asked, examining the key lock that was placed on the metal door.

"Meelo, we really should go find Korra. I think she's worried."

"Watch how a man handles this!" Meelo flexed his child arms. He cracked his knuckles and looked prepared to smash the door. Suddenly, he swiped a hair pin from Jinora's head.

"Hey!" She cried out, her hands protectively on her head.

"Quiet woman. A spy needs absolute concentration."

Jinora rolled her eyes as her brother began to fiddle her hair pin into the lock. She placed her hand on his shoulder and began pulling him away from the door. "Come on. Korra-"

There was a click.

"I got it!"

Jinora stood helpless as Meelo pulled at the large, metal door. It squeaked opened and whatever was inside began to stir.

It was dark inside but with the door open, they could see cages with lion vultures inside. They were squawking at them. The hostility was evident.

"I think we should really go." Jinora said.

"Nonsense woman. This is my army. Alright, listen up you maggots. I am your new leader and together, we'll take over this circus. First the circus, and then the world!"

"This isn't funny anymore. We need to go back before we get in trouble. Wait, no Meelo don't touch that!"

Meelo had wandered over to the left side of the container that had a shiny, emerald button. Of course, he had to press it. Jinora watched in horror as the cage doors shot up. Now nothing stopped the lion vultures from attacking.

"Oops." He said.

"This is bad. This is really bad." Jinora cried out.


End file.
